The Courtship of a Queen & Her Knight

by SushiSheik

This stories follows Disenchantment Part 3. Follow along with the series of events that takes Bean from the pits of Hell to the highs of being the Queen of Dreamland as she adjusts to her new role as ruler. At the heart of this story is the journey between Bean and Sir Pendergast, and the romance and trust that begins to bloom between them. BeanxPendergast / Beandergast

10. It's the End of the Woods As We Know It

Pendergast took in a deep breath before exhaling slowly, trying to quell his nerves.

Only a few hours ago he had been standing nearly chest to chest with Bean and heard her speak a series of words that had only ever existed before in his wildest dreams. Even thinking about what Bean said brought a giddy smile to his lips and caused his heart to flutter with pure excitement.

"That I, Queen Tiabeanie The First, grant you, Sir Pendergast, Dreamland Knight and Leader of the Knights of the Tiabeanie Table, permission to formally court me!"

He was officially courting Bean!

That is, if the poor guy didn't have a heart attack before he reached her door to sleep beside her in her bed. He still had the task of protecting her from nightmares, courting or not. Taking another deep breath, Pendergast smoothed back his hair and subtly fixed the front of his tunic.

He hadn't seen Bean since earlier that day when she chased after Luci. Of course, then the knight made himself busy by experimenting with various interrogative tactics on a particular prisoner down in the dungeons with Stan, followed by some reports and other menial tasks that the knight needed to tend to. Unfortunately, the duties of a knight were never truly done. It was now rather late into the evening, much later than he usually arrived at Bean's chambers.

Climbing the last of the stairs, Pendergast greeted the guards who stood outside their queen's door with a nod. The men returned the gesture and stepped aside. No one aside from Pendergast, Bean, and apparently Luci knew about the shift in relationship between the knight and queen… and Pendergast would rather keep it this way. As far as the other guards knew, Pendergast was the Queen's Watchman, and that he helped her sleep without night terrors, which was fine by them. Screaming, non-drunk Bean was more terrifying than hungover Bean.

"Is Her Majesty inside?"

The guard, Antos, nodded as he grinned. "Aye! Bean's inside and seems to be havin' quite the party!"

Ignoring the fact that his heart was beating fast and thundering in his ears, Pendergast gave the man a dubious look before he knocked on the door and entered. He wasn't sure what to expect, but the knight wasn't that surprised to hear the sudden guffaw of laughter that he knew rather well. Smiling, Pendergast closed the door behind him as Bean continued to laugh, joined by the cackles of Luci. The pair were seated on the room's couch in front of the fire. Several bottles of alcohol lay strewn empty about on the floor, with Bean brandishing another in her hand while Luci held a half-filled cup. Ah, so this is where the pair ended up after their spat. Fitting.

Both drunks looked over at the knight's arrival and Luci immediately began to smirk.

"Well, well, well! If it isn't the boyfriend of the hour! Dude, what took ya so long?"

Pendergast's face went red and he suddenly looked rather uncomfortable.

"Oh, knock it off, Luce!" Bean declared, clearly drunk and annoyed. She cast Pendergast a bleary and disinterested look before laying back and waving him off. "Besides! He's so not my boyfriend! He has a lot to prove before that!"

The one-eyed knight blinked as he watched Bean tilt back her bottle and chug a few gulps down. Clearing his throat, Pendergast set his hands behind his back and maintained a neutral expression.

"Shall I return later, my queen?"

Bean burst out laughing and promptly rolled off the couch, her bottle cluttering to the floor before it rolled away. Pendergast frowned and took a half-step forward to go and help her, but didn't and returned to his dutiful posture. This was Bean, after all.

"Naw, buddy! Come and have a drink! Take a load off!" Luci called over before winking at the man. "I think you deserve a shot or two considering how much you have to deal with this walking disaster!"

The small black cat-thing gestured towards the sprawled out form of the kingdom's ruler, who may or may not have passed out on the floor.

Pendergast put on an unsure half-smile as he stepped forward to look down at Luci and the passed-out Bean. The knight reached up to rub his chin as he regarded the twisted form of his queen, whose eyes were closed as she on her stomach, with one arm over her head, the other behind her back, while her legs were stretched on the floor and were concerningly close to the fire.

"Aren't you usually at your bar at this hour, Luci?" Pendergast asked as he stepped around and casually pushed Bean's legs away from the fireplace with his foot.

"Oh, crap!" Luci exclaimed as he looked at the nonexistent watch on his wrist. Hopping down to the floor, Luci gulped down the rest of his drink before tossing the cup aside. "I'll catch up with you lovebirds in the morning," the former-demon dismissively called as he exited through the door.

Pendergast blinked after him but before he could move or do anything, Luci popped his big head back into the doorway with a sly look on his face.

"Have funnn and don't forget to use your safe word!"

The man frowned slightly as he watched the door close. He sighed and looked back down at the slumbering queen. Shaking his head, Pendergast got to work in reaching down to pick up his drunken beloved. Evidently, this wasn't the first time he's had to pick a drunk Bean up off the floor. This was, however, the first time he'd done so while blushed because of the whole courting permission thing.

Trying to be respectful with where he put his hands, Pendergast adjusted Bean in his arms and carried her over to the bed. She grunted and groaned slightly during the short journey, but didn't look like she was about to wake up anytime soon. The man carrying her didn't have an issue with this. He wanted her to get her rest and it made him happy to see that she'd been having a good time with Luci. However, Pendergast did find it slightly odd that Bean had passed out already… that didn't seem like her. Thinking on this, the knight laid down his queen on her usual side of the bed (which frankly was more in the middle, not that he minded that), before he carefully removed her boots, so that he could maneuver her underneath the blankets. He was trying to be careful, but he did also recall what Luci had told him: that Bean was a very deep sleeper. Sure enough, the sleeping white-haired woman barely stirred the entire time.

Stepping back, Pendergast took a moment to simply look at his sleeping beauty and he smiled. Death had been worth all of this.

Not wanting to be a total creep, Pendergast reached up to take off his knight's tunic and tossed it aside. He paused, however, and frowned as he realized his dilemma. He had never gotten into bed with Bean while she was already asleep. With Bean having taken medicine each night to help ease her back pain from her near-death fall into the lake, she'd always been somewhat aware when he had entered her room. Now, standing there, watching her breath peacefully with her mouth slightly agape, the man wasn't sure how to proceed.

"Damn it all!" he whispered under his breath.

Rolling his single eye, the man turned to sit near the end of the bed. Angrily staring at the wall, Pendergast tapped his foot and considered his options. What was the best thing to do? What was the most honourable thing to do? Just because he was officially allowed to court Bean now, didn't mean that he could just slip into her bed without her knowledge. However, she still relied on him to help keep her nightmares at bay… if that was even a worry anymore. The only way to test that theory would be for Bean to sleep on her own, and she hadn't given him any indication that was her wish. Pendergast would never dream of leaving her alone when she expected him to join her.

Still… the act of laying down next to her while she slept just felt wrong for the chivalrous knight. Their courtship was already way out of order, that much he could admit. Usually sleeping together came after permission to court had been given.

Pendergast frowned as he absentmindedly rubbed his knuckles. He knew why he hesitated, and it was actually only partly because Bean was already awake. He knew that he should have told her already about the Steamland prisoner down in the dungeon. He knew that he should have discussed with her his ongoing suspicions that there was a traitor in the castle, which was why they had been ambushed and Bean was nearly kidnapped. Pendergast hadn't wanted her to worry while she'd been recovering but… he also knew that that wasn't exactly his call to make.

Bean was the queen, after all, and she had trusted him enough to allow him to get closer to her. She wanted for him to get closer to her, yet he hadn't been truly open and honest with her these past couple of days. Sure he had allowed for some of his guilt to bleed out into the punches and torture of the Steamlander, but that was only a distraction.

Turning to look over at Bean with a sorrowful look, Pendergast immediately blinked with surprise. Bean still lay there, but now her eyes half open, and she was watching him with an indifferent expression.

The man flinched back slightly when she spoke.

"The hell are you doing, Pendergast?"

"B-Bean! I thought you were asleep. I apologize if I-"

"Why haven't you laid down yet?" Bean asked dryly as she shifted her position to better look up at him.

Pendergast blushed and rubbed the back of his hair.

"I, umm… wasn't sure if I-"

"Just hurry up and lie down."

The knight blinked again in surprise as his queen sounded rather grouchy as she rolled onto her side, her back to him and curled up into a sleepy ball. After another moment's hesitation, Pendergast quickly scooted up towards the pillows. His ribs still ached slightly from the ambush, but this new body of his was proving to be rather quick with healing. Slowly he lay down next to Bean before he sighed to try and relax. The side of his arm brushed against her back, thought this would be enough contact for this living angel to keep the Devil's nightmares from tormenting his lady love. Licking his lips, the man interlocked his hands on his stomach and stared up at the wooden underside of the balcony above.

At first there was a silence of sorts between them and… frankly it felt a bit awkward. Pendergast wasn't asleep and he couldn't entirely be sure that Bean had fallen asleep either.

Sure enough, after a few more minutes, Bean scoffed and groaned as she began to roll over towards him. Grumpily grabbing his arm, she hooked hers around his and pulled him close to hug it, like some muscley teddy bear, and burrow her face into the fabric of his sleeve over his shoulder. Pendergast only stared and tried to contain his smile, which softened when he heard Bean sigh with contentment.

Turning to look up at the balcony once more, Pendergast continued to softly smile with boyish glee until his attention was drawn back to Bean once again when she spoke.

"Pendergast?"

"Yes, Bean?"

"There's somethin' botherin' you, isn't there?"

Her eyes were closed and her words were slurred from tiredness and alcohol, but that wouldn't stop Bean from speaking her mind.

Pendergast's heart fluttered with faint dread.

"I… actually there is something amiss, but I haven't wished to cause you any alarm."

Bean slightly opened her eyes to look up at him with a sleepy expression before she mumbled, "What izzit?"

"Well…" he began, his eye searching her half-lidded stare, "it's… to do with the ambush, my queen."

"And?"

"It's just that-" Pendergast paused as he quickly chose what he should reveal in that moment "-I believe that we may have a traitor within our midst, which was why we were caught off guard and how you were nearly taken with concerning efficiency."

Bean slowly blinked at him, before she inhaled slowly as she tucked her head back against his arm as she sighed out her breath.

"So? What're gunna do about it?"

Pendergast reached his other hand to lightly place it over one of Bean's as he turned back to glare up at the balcony with determination.

"What I promised to do: keep you safe! We need to smoke out the traitor, and-"

"We could go t'the forest…"

The knight blinked and turned back to Bean in confused surprise. "What was that?"

Bean inhaled and then mumbled, "You, me… the forest, find clues… Luci will, with th'Trøgs… find…"

As his queen was quickly falling asleep, Pendergast finally caught on to what she was muttering about and his face lit up.

"Bean! That's a fantastic idea! Much better than the one I was thinking of. You and I will leave the castle for a couple days. No one can know our true destination, or… I suppose someone should, Stan perhaps, and while we're gone, Luci can- wait. What's a-... a frog? Is that what you said? Bean?"

Pendergast looked expectantly at his queen, before he realized that she had, in fact, fallen asleep. No matter… he'd continue to discuss this plan with her in the morning and after her hangover had lessened. Smiling softly, Pendergast cast his queen an expression of admiration and love before he finally sighed to relax, closed his eye, and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

That is, until he woke up due to the normal chaos of Bunty bursting into the room and Bean being hungover and grumpy, but we'll just skip all that.

Yeah… let's fast forward to the reason we're all here: the Bean and Pendergast parts.

For quick context, in the morning Bean eventually was able to explain to Pendergast that there were, in fact, a bunch of elf-like grey dudes running around in miles of tunnels all over the place and that for whatever reason they considered Bean, Luci, and Elfo to be their saviours… or something like that. The pair then tracked down Luci and explained their plan for Bean and Pendergast to head off together into the Enchanted Forest while Luci orchestrated the Trøgs to spy on the goings-ons of the castle to gauge any suspicious behaviour. As much as Pendergast knew that a secret venture with just Bean was risky, he also couldn't deny how much he wanted to spend some true alone time with her where he could relax some of his knighthood for her sake. Besides, she seemed genuinely excited to spend time with him. Luci, of course, teased her about this, but Bean didn't even seem to care. She wanted out of the castle and an adventure to find clues into Pendergast's past seemed like a good enough excuse for the queen (whether or not he was to be considered her actual boyfriend was still up for debate). Luci was onboard, because, as he claimed himself, he was always up for a good sneak. Stan was informed of the pair's true destination of the Enchanted Forest (Pendergast had his full trust in the man, especially as of late) while Odval and the other members of the council were either given vague answers or completely incorrect destinations, like the Edge of the World or Elfwood. Odval did once again subtly mention to Pendergast that he ought to be careful with his private trysts with the queen, and the knight had to really fight back the urge to beat his face in.

That brings us forward in time to about noontime when Bean and Pendergast are riding off with their saddlebags fully packed for a couple days' worth camping trip and enter the Enchanted Forest.

Boy howdy… Here we go!

The dim coolness of the forest road was a comfortable contrast to an otherwise hot day. Sunshine filtered down through the canopy that swayed gently with the day's breeze and here and there as the pair of riders rode down the path scampered away critters like rabbits and squirrels.

Bean was smiling and sighed for about the third time in the past ten minutes and Pendergast looked over at her with a smile.

"Is there something amiss, my liege?"

"Remember to only call me Bean while we're out here, Pendergast," Bean corrected with a smirk. "The whole point of this operation is so that folks don't know I'm the queen."

"R-right, my apologies," replied the knight, a bit bashful.

Indeed, Pendergast bore no sign that he was a Dreamland Knight, except for the sheathed sword at his hip and the crossbow on his back: fairly standard protection against the dangers that lurked in the magical forest. The man wore his usual white shirt and dark leggings, with a black hooded cape beneath his crossbow, though he wore his hood down for the time being. He had also had the foresight to bring along his lute in its case. Likewise, Bean was dressed like classic Bean: blue tunic and brown leggings galore. Like Pendergast, she also wore a hooded cape, though hers was a dark blue colour.

Clearing his throat, Pendergast tried again, "Is there anything wrong, Bean?"

Bean sighed yet again, but she was smiling. "I gotta admit that… no! There really isn't, which is like almost a weird feeling. I mean sure, there's always people who are mad at me, want to kidnap me, or kill me, but whatever: that's normal. But, right now?" Bean paused and her smile widened a bit lazily, "Yeah… I feel pretty good."

Pendergast watched the white-haired woman shrug and he matched her smile when she looked over at him. A bit of the knight's old sense of cockiness crept into his demeanour and he arched his brow at her as he subtly puffed up his chest.

"Might I assume that I have something to do with your good mood?"

Bean chuckled and looked ahead, but kept smiling. "Maybe," she admitted, glancing back over at Pendergast before shaking her head slightly.

And how the fuck that had hadn't, Bean couldn't even to be sure anymore. Did it even matter? Not in the fucking slightest. Okay! She liked Pendergast! The Orb even confirmed that to her and she'd be lying if she said that she didn't like the way he made her feel with how he looked at her and treated her. He had saved her life, like a couple times now, and had proven himself to be someone whom Bean could fully trust. A blush coloured her cheeks and she cleared her throat to change the subject.

"So, like, do you have any idea where we're going? Like, where should we at least start looking?"

Pendergast, being high on life right now, blinked at her with momentary confusion before he hurriedly fiddled with his saddlebags until he retrieved a small leatherbound journal. He started to flip through the pages as his stallion obediently kept walking forward with Bean's bay gelding.

"I believe so…" he began, his single eye scanning the handwritten accounts of the late-sir Boyd. "Ah… here it is! This is where Sir Boyd wrote about how he found me…"

Bean found herself watching the man as he continued to slowly scan and flip through the journal, noting how determined Pendergast looked. She sighed when she realized that… for fuck's sake… she found the way he scrunched up his mouth to be somehow adorable. Wait, what? Why?! Crushes were weird, okay? Case in point, here Bean was, basically on an intimate camping trip with Pendergast, and she couldn't stop smiling like an idiot as she watched the man nearly drop the damn journal.

Shaking her head, Bean groaned and stared at the road ahead as Pendergast began to read from the journal.

"For the glory of Dreamland and the glorious reign of His Majesty, King Zøg, the lads and I of the Dreamland Knights rode westwards, deeper into the dark depths of this cursed forest-"

"So, we should head to western edge of the forest," Bean confirmed.

"Hm…" Pendergast mumbled , as he read ahead. "Sir Boyd goes on to mention how he lost two men to a mud pit, and four more when they mistakenly rode into a ravine..."

Bean gestured for him to speed up. "Yeah, yeah, what about after that?"

Pendergast scanned the pages for a few more minutes, pausing to adjust his horse's direction, before he pointed to another page. "I believe I found the entry about when they found me."

"I thought you read this before," Bean stated, raising her eyebrow.

The knight glanced over at her before looking back down at the journal, "I tried to. I… skimmed until I found the part about me, but then I became… distracted by more important matters."

While his tone remained casual, it was the way Pendergast pointedly looked at the journal that caused Bean to realize that perhaps this entire escapade was more difficult for the knight than he was letting on. Thinking about it, she never actually asked if he wanted to do this… he just agreed with her. She cocked her head slightly and urged her gelding to walk closer to Pendergast's black stallion, forcing him to look over at her when her foot brushed against his.

"Hey. You'd tell me if you weren't cool about this, wouldn't you?"

The man blinked at her in genuine surprise before smiling and sitting a bit straighter.

"Of course I would, Bean, but you must believe me when I say that there is nothing wrong. How could there be? I'm here with you, after all," the knight stated matter-of-factly and he looked at her with boyish confidence.

The pair rode so close now that all Pendergast had to do was lean over and he could've given Bean a kiss on her cheek or, better yet, on her lips. He didn't, unfortunately, but rest assured… there will be a lot of kissing later in this chapter. Instead, Pendergast tore his gaze away from Bean and flipped to another page before his smile grew wider as he pointed to the page, "And I believe that I have found a clue as to where we should look."

"Oh, yeah?" Bean asked, trying to ignore how warm she felt.

Pendergast cleared his throat and began to read. "The men came across a waterfall, with waters of blue magic. By this cursed water stood a great stone hand, with moss hanging off it like remnants of a glove, and then, hark! A great beast rose from the thicket! A fearsome forest selkie! A great hairy beast with fearsome jaws and-" Pendergast paused with his reading, chuckled lightly before continuing "-and large breasts. The she-beast held within its clutches a wee lad by the leg, who cried out with weak constitution for us to e his saviours. I ordered the men to charge forward to save the boy and destroy the vile beast..."

Shrugging, the knight flipped through the next couple of pages before closing the journal and looking at Bean.

"Okay… so we head west and start looking for a magical waterfall by a stone that looks like a hand?"

"It would appear so," Pendergast replied, tucking the journal back into his saddlebag.

"Sounds simple enough."

Pendergast admired Bean for her casual positivity, though he didn't hope for much. It had, after all, been about twenty years since he had been found by the Dreamland Knights, so he had some doubts about actually finding something. Still, he wasn't even going to complain about this trip because he was going to spend it with Bean. He also didn't want to dampen any of her spirits.

Queue the travelling montage of them making their way through the forest until night fell, and Bean and Pendergast stop to make camp for the night.

Once they stopped, Pendergast proved that the Dreamland Knights weren't complete idiots and that they did undergo some survival training. Not only could he set up a proper camp and firepit, but the man actually snared a rabbit and knew how to cook it! Wow… not a complete dumbass. Bean was mildly impressed. As she chomped away on a rabbit leg, Bean watched the knight tune his lute on the other side of the campfire. Pendergast promised that he'd play for her and she wasn't about to stop him.

Biting her lip, Bean tossed the rabbit bone into a nearby bush and laid down on her side with her head propped up on her hand.

"So… I noticed that you packed two tents, but only set one up."

Pendergast paused with his tweaking and smirked over at her.

"Yes, well… Two tents to discourage any curious eyes who may have watched me pack, but I thought that perhaps that I would sleep out here by the fire, so that-"

"Yeah, that's not happening."

The man's brows shot up and a blush filled his cheeks. He smirked with renewed bravado and played a couple notes. Pendergast chuckled, but before he could say something, Bean cut him off again.

"And! Hey now! Don't start thinking that I can't sleep by myself or anything!"

"I know, Bean."

"Because I like, totally still can…"

"Just say the word and I'll give you space."

Bean narrowed her eyes at him, before she dropped her gaze and absentmindedly tugged on her hair. Maybe she half expected Pendergast to question her or fight back or something, but he wasn't like that. He knew that she was scared of her potential nightmares, even if she wouldn't admit it herself. Bottom line was, Bean needed Pendergast, and… she liked having him around, so it was a win-win situation.

"I, ah… So, Pendergast-?"

"Yes?"

Indecision creased Bean's expression until she sighed and rolled onto her back to look up at the smoke filtering up into the night's sky. She danced her fingers on her stomach until she brought her foot back to retrieve one of her boot flasks.

"Can I… tell you something?"

"You can tell me anything, Bean."

Bean smiled. "I know. But, like… I'll be honest with you. This is my first time that I've, like, gone out on a camping trip like this."

"Oh, well… Haven't you come along with us knights before-?"

"Yeah," Bean replied with a huff and rolled her eyes, "but that doesn't count! I mean, you know… just me and guy. I've never, like, done this before. Guys were always so scared of my dad before, so they never stuck around long enough for me to do this kind of stuff."

Pendergast strummed out a couple more notes, which gave his eye somewhere to look.

"If you're… uncomfortable about this, we can-"

"No!" Bean interjected, before she gulped down half her flask. Sighing allowed, she waved him off and continued with a softer tone, "I mean, I'm not uncomfortable. I mean, come on? I've been to Hell! Twice! Tch! I can handle being out here in the woods with you."

Admittedly, Pendergast wasn't sure how to respond to this, so he just continued to strum random notes. Of course, given his Heaven-granted skills, the tune he created still sounded amazing.

Staring up at the stars, Bean drank down the rest of her flask and remained quiet as Pendergast played. His random notes and small melodies seamlessly flowed into a sweet-sounding song that paired rather nicely with Bean's alcohol. Smiling and closing her eyes, the white-haired queen found her other boot flask and began to drink that down too. She needed this: her nerves were through the roof! But, why? Hmm… maybe it was because she was out in the woods with her non-boyfriend? Her… loyal, sweet, brave, living angel, lute-prodigy non-boyfriend?

By the time Bean drank down her second flask, she was starting to feel a bit more at ease and like her typical confident self. Sitting up with only a slight wobble, Bean turned a casual gaze over at the strumming knight. Pendergast… he just looked so cool! His eye was heavy-lidded and his focus was on his fingers upon his lute. Clearly he was giving his queen the space she needed, but Bean was about to change that. Crabwalking around the firepit over towards the knight, Pendergast looked up at Bean's approach and only blinked when she came to sit beside him. Smiling, the knight kept on playing and returned his gaze on his finger placements so that he could silently appreciate Bean's assertiveness.

Bean cleared her throat as she bright up her knees and half-wrapped her arms around them.

"So… I, ah… I guess I'm sorry for, you know… being a bit awkward tonight."

"I… didn't even notice," Pendergast claimed, strumming away.

Bean nudged him playfully and Pendergast looked over at her with a charming smile, never missing a note he played.

Arching her brow at him, Bean smirked at him before saying, "Tell me: were you always this cool or does dying just make a person cooler?"

Pendergast laughed before he shrugged. "Well, if the latter was the case, then you'd be admitting that your friend Elfo was cool."

The Queen of Dreamland blinked, before she looked into the fire: her mind slightly blown. "Holy shit… you're right," she muttered, before shaking her head. "Damn, that means you were always cool! I guess I just never realized it before."

"Or…" Pendergast offered, matching her smirk, "perhaps I was too busy being a jerk for you to notice."

Bean nodded slowly. "Yeah… that sounds about right."

The pair fell into a comfortable silence as Pendergast continued to play and the fire crackled happily. Bean was smiling like a dork, but that was probably the alcohol. Wait, she hadn't even drank a lot… so she was actually just… happy? Humming softly, she slowly leaned towards her knight until their shoulders touched, but she didn't stop there. Shifting her legs to the side, Bean more or less fully reclined against Pendergast, just because she could. She settled her head against his and his shoulder, with the man slightly shifting his position so that she'd be more comfortable.

Pendergast didn't say a word, only fighting how wide his smile was trying to be.

"It's about time that you play for me, you know."

"I apologize if I've disappointed you, my-... Bean."

Bean smiled.

"My Bean?"

Pendergast cleared his throat and ignored the heat in his cheeks. "I was going to call you "my queen," which is proving to be a hard habit to beat."

Bean only grunted softly in response and Pendergast continued speaking.

"To be quite honest with you, when you granted me permission to court you, I thought we'd at least go out on a few dates before doing something as… intimate as a camping trip such as this."

"Yeah, well… it's as you said. There's probably a traitor in the castle and we need to flush them out. So… no time like the present, right?"

Pendergast half-turned his head towards her, trying to see her with his last surviving eye, though… if he turned any further he quite easily could've just leaned forward to kiss her. He so badly wanted to kiss her, but his knightly chivalry be damned! He just couldn't kiss her willy-nilly! Come on, man! Be bold! She gave you permission!

"Right," Pendergast replied lightly as he subtly licked his lips. "Umm, Bean?"

"Mmhm?"

"May I… Might you grant me the honour of a kiss?"

Bean slowly her eyes as an odd expression came over her face. Lifting her head, she turned towards him and revealed her confusion. Pendergast instantly looked away and his face burned bright red. Only then did he stumble with his song.

"I just got the weirdest sense of déja-vu," Bean admitted softly.

"How do you-?"

"I totally had a dream of you asking to kiss me just like that a couple days ago. Weird, huh?"

"Ahhh… Well-?"

"Pendergast…" Bean warned, slightly frowning at the man and raising her brow critically.

"Okay, okay!" Pendergast relented, stopping his strumming and looked over at her ashamedly. "That… wasn't a dream. Not long after I got you back to the castle after the ambush, you were all dopey from your medicine, and I came to bed, which… always sounds bad… B-but you came onto me! You wanted me to kiss you, but you see…" Pendergast paused to clear his throat and sit a bit straighter, "a true Knight of Dreamland asks for a lady's permission for a kiss! And so… you dared me to ask you and… I did… and… yeah. We, um, made out, before you, ah… finally fell asleep."

Letting his words trail off, poor Pendergast set his lute aside so he could nervously rub the back of his neck. Slowly he dared to look back around at Bean, only to blink in veiled fear when he saw her expression that was half-amused, half… aroused? He wasn't entirely sure and he wasn't brave enough to hope.

"We made out, huh?" Bean asked, her tone sounded amused.

Yyyyyesssss?" Pendergast replied, his voice crackling a bit, forcing him to clear his throat and look at the fire.

"Huh," Bean replied simply, before shrugging. She returned to leaning against him with her head on his shoulder. "I guess it doesn't count, though, since I don't remember it. You'll have to ask me all over again."

Pendergast blinked and looked over at her for a couple moments, waiting, before he realized that Bean wasn't going to say anything else.

"Umm… I just, ah… did. Remember?"

Bean shifted her head to meet his stare with a thoughtful expression, before she raised her brows and nodded slightly. "Oh, right… I guess you did."

Without warning, or any more signs of hesitation, Bean lifted her head as she raised her left hand to forcibly wrap it around Pendergast's neck and head, so that she could pull his surprised mouth against hers. It only took the knight a moment to understand what was happening and for him to recover after his heart momentarily stopped, before he kissed his queen back. They weren't in the most comfortable of positions, but hey: he wasn't about to complain. Wrapping his right arm slowly around her waist to lightly hold her closer, the knight also brought up his left hand to cup and caress her chin. This must've been the right move because Bean lightly groaned and stretched her neck even more to deepen their kiss.

That soft sound alone turned up the heat in Pendergast's blood. Using his yummy muscles, he gently coaxed Bean to slowly lie back, his arm still around her to support her from falling back too fast. Through the entire transition, his lips never left hers. After a few more motions and a lot more smooching, the Dreamland Queen and her knight were full on making out on the ground. Bean had her arms wrapped around Pendergast's neck and shoulders, while the one-eyed man was half positioned on top of her using his forearms to support himself. To Pendergast's credit, he was doing a pretty good job with not going overboard.

That is, until Bean hooked her leg behind his thigh and pulled him closer to cause their bodies to collide.

Pendergast's eye snapped open. He broke their kiss and stared down at her, breathing heavily and his heart racing.

Bean's breathing was just as heavy as his. When she opened her eyes, Bean looked up at him with desire and intoxication (she wasn't even drunk), and her famous teeth bit her lower lip.

"What's the matter? Did your lips cramp up?"

"I-! Ugh-"

Bean cocked a brow slightly and raised her leg between his to brush against his inner thighs, "What? Spill your load already?"

The blood drained from Pendergast's face. He rolled off of her and busied himself with stirring up the fire.

"N-no! It's just-!"

"Just… what?" Bean asked slowly, sitting up and looking at him with slightly guarded eyes.

"I just… I don't wish to go too fast. I mean," Pendergast paused to look over at her, "you gave me permission to court you, and I fully intend to! But I wish to do it right. I want to do right by you. So-"

"So... what? You want to stop just when it's gettin' good?" Bean asked dryly, but there was a touch of something else in her tone: respect maybe?

Pendergast looked uncomfortable, and he was! He had a raging boner that desperately needed to be adjusted, or better yet relieved, but now was not the time for that.

"I don't… want to stop. I just… want to do this right. Why rush?"

Her knight looked over at her and Bean felt her libido cool down a few degrees. However, oddly enough, she wasn't as annoyed as she thought she'd be. Pendergast wasn't the first guy to stop making out with her, but he was the first to do so because he wanted to take things slow. To be honest, Bean didn't know how to process this new information.

"Ah… yeah. I mean, I guess so," she replied, reaching up to tug on her hair.

"I humbly apologize if I've disappointed you, Bean."

Bean looked over at him in shock and she tried to smother the wave of guilt that washed over her. Why should she feel bad? She was a queen! But… Pendergast… he looked so sad and pathetic. Sighing, Bean slid over to sit next to him and nudged him with her arm, coaxing him to look at her. She smiled at him and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek.

"Pendergast. You are the first boyfriend I've had and so far, you're also the best. I'm not disappointed."

The man's face lit up. "I'm your boyfriend?!"

Bean rolled her eyes, but she kept smiling. "Well… it turns out that you are a pretty good kisser, so…. Yeah, but let's keep it between us, 'kay?"

Pendergast was so happy at that moment that blowing his load prematurely was a real possibility. He didn't, by the way, but the man was very happy regardless.

"I promise."

"Yeah…" Bean began, blushing at the way he was looking at her. "I think I'm gunna head to sleep now. You comin'?"

Pendergast grinned and swallowed hard.

"Yeah… soon! I think I'm going to stay out here and, ah… wait for the fire to die down a bit. Then I'll be right in."

Yeah… After all that kissing and skin touching, Pendergast needed some time alone, though not too long. No, it wouldn't take long at all, let's be honest. Besides, he wanted to lie down and wrap his arm around his… his girlfriend. Wow! She had said! She called him, Sir Pendergast, her boyfriend!

Oh, yeah! Once Pendergast stepped away from the firelight, he quickly found sweet release... much to the appallment of a passing mouse on his way home from work. Puffing out his cheeks with sweet satisfaction, Pendergast fixed his pants and wiped his hands on a cloth before spreading the dying embers with his boot.

Time to do his duty and ensure that his beautiful queen and girlfriend had sweet dreams.

Skipping ahead to morning, and all that boring waking up and packing up stuff (though you can imagine a pretty cute wake up scene), Bean and Pendergast rode off westward and deeper into the forest. They talked, they laughed, they narrowly rode over a group of gnomes - it was great!

After a few hours, Pendergast opened up his map, but it wasn't much use. The Enchanted Forest wasn't exactly mapped out as well as it could have been. King Zøg did try to get the map updated… but then the scouting party somehow made their way into the Lovers' Bog and were never heard from again. Still! The knight knew that they were now in the western side of the forest, so all they had to do now was find a waterfall with a stone hand nearby it.

"Hey, so I was wondering something."

"Oh, yeah? What is it?" Pendergast asked, looking over at Bean.

"If Sir Boyd found you somewhere out here, and you don't remember anything about where you're from… did he name you? Or did your adoptive mother?"

Pendergast began to laugh.

Bean fought off a smile as she crossed her arms. "What? It's a valid question. You gotta admit, Pendergast is a pretty weird name."

Pendergast shrugged and nodded. "I thought that myself- as in whether or not Sir Boyd named me, I mean. But, apparently, no! He didn't, and neither did my mother. My name was the only thing I told him about myself." Leaning towards Bean a bit, Pendergast asked, "You really think my name is weird?"

Bean shrugged and playfully punched his arm. "I mean, do you know anyone else in the kingdom named Pendergast? I sure as hell never have."

The knight smiled and couldn't argue with that. He hadn't thought about it before, but she was right. His name was pretty weird. It made him think…

"If my name's so weird, it makes me wonder where I came from."

"If we're lucky, maybe we'll find that out," Bean offered encouragingly.

Pendergast smiled over at her. "And… if we don't, it's fine. At the end of the day, Bean, it doesn't really matter where I came from."

"Why is that?" Bean asked, frowning a bit. "Don't you want to know?"

"Sure, I do," Pendergast said with a shrug, before he cocked his head to the side and perked a brow at her. "But I want you to know that all that matters is where I am now, Bean, and… where I want to be is with- I mean, at least, near you."

Bean's eyes widened and a blush reddened her freckled cheeks, before she swept her hair behind her ear and looked ahead. She was still smiling, though.

After another hour or so, the pair of riders entered into a darker and older part of the forest. They were quite far from Elfwood and Bean admitted that she had never been to this side of the woods before. Pendergast revealed that even the knights rarely come to this section of the Enchanted Woods because of the rumours of great magical beasts that liked to skulk in the shadows. When the knight tried to coerce his queen that perhaps they should turn back and search somewhere else, Bean waved him off. Sir Boyd's notes revealed how he and his knightly party rode down the path through the forest until they came to a "great tree" and it was from there that they heard the forest selkie's cries and inevitably found a young Pendergast. The white-haired woman was confident that they would find something, and Pendergast didn't want to disappoint her.

And so, they kept going, even when the forest closed in around them and the darkness became thicker. Pendergast kept his crossbow in hand and cast a suspicious glance at every sound, ready to defend his queen at a moment's notice. Bean, however, was smiling and excited! This was thrilling! This was the adventure she'd been craving since… well, since she was abducted and taken down to Hell to marry the Devil. Or... since she was nearly kidnapped by Alva Gunderson and Steamland and then she almost drowned… Hm, maybe she just liked the adrenaline rush? Being Queen of Dreamland wasn't all that fun on its own, so she needed to get out and deal with some danger once in a while.

Luckily, Bean had the best Dreamland Knight at her side, so she knew that she'd be okay.

Just as Pendergast turned his crossbow at yet another twig snapped, Bean reached over suddenly to slap his arm with the back of her hand. Fortunately, Pendergast was pretty good at not shooting off prematurely.

"Hey! Pendergast! Look! I think that's the tree!"

The knight looked up and sure enough, up ahead emerging from the dim of the murky woods stood a giant. It was an oak with a trunk so fat, it made Zøg's girth look skinny. Gnarled with age, the tree was a sight to behold, and up in its great canopy fluttered what looked to be fairies.

Pendergast scrutinized the tree and frowned slightly. It did look just as Sir Boyd described, and if that was the case…

"If that is the tree, then we need to turn north off the path. If we're in the right place, then we'll find the waterfall with a pool and close to that should be the stone hand."

"Do you think Sir Boyd meant, like, a hand of stone, or a stone that looks like a hand?"

"What's the difference?" Pendergast asked as they turned off the path.

"I guess… it could be like a regular hand, or a giant's hand that somehow got changed to stone by, like, a magic spell or something."

"Like the one that petrified the whole of Dreamland? Myself included?" Pendergast asked, looking over at her.

"Yeah…" Bean admitted, having almost forgotten about that whole crisis (thanks Mom), "or… are we looking for a boulder that just so happens to look like a hand?"

"I think… it's the latter, Bean," Pendergast stated suddenly, pointing ahead.

Following Pendergast's finger, Bean saw that ahead of them, where the woods thinned out slightly to form a small meadow, was a giant boulder that actually did resemble a hand. The hand in question was positioned as if a great stone giant was emerging from the earth and was casting a spell on the surrounding trees. The boulder was covered in moss, just like Sir Boyd described, that sheathed the stone's surface like a glove, along with the mass of vines and leaves that were fighting back against the hand's hidden spell. Bean blinked before grinning wide as she dismounted her horse. Pendergast followed suit and took hold of both horses' reins and followed her towards the great hand.

"This must be it! Now, all we gotta do is look around and hopefully find something that looks out of place."

"As long as we don't find the forest selkie," Pendergast said lightly, but the way he cast his eye around revealed that he wasn't as comfortable being here as Bean was.

Bean, however, laughed as she began to search through the long grass and vines.

"You know, forest selkies aren't as scary as you think. My dad dated one for a bit. You remember? She was a bear selkie. Her name was Ursula."

"Oh yeah… whatever happened to her?"

"I don't know," Bean admitted, on her hands and knees as she combed through the thicket near the boulder.

Pendergast tied up the horses and came to stand by the stone hand, one hand on the hilt of his sword, while the other held his crossbow at the ready. He was less keen on finding twenty-year old evidence than he was on finding any traces of possible threats.

"What exactly are you hoping to find here, Bean?" Pendergast asked, looking around him suspiciously.

"I don't know. I just know that your best chance of finding out where you came from must be around here."

The knight opened his mouth to point out that there was almost a zero chance in her finding anything, but he didn't. Pendergast didn't want to dampen her spirits. He was just thankful to be able to spend this time with her. Sure, he was over the moon about being Bean's boyfriend… but he knew this wouldn't last. It couldn't, because at the end of the day… Bean was queen, and he was… well, he was a knight. A nobody. The most he could've dreamed of with being in a relationship with Bean was kissing her, which he did, and maybe getting to second base… which he got close to achieving last night. Considering how Bean reacted when he stopped their make out session, she probably would've let him get there and maybe even further.

"I'd love to help you look, Bean, but I really need to keep an eye out for-"

"Hey! I found something!"

Surprise filled the man's expression. He stepped closer as Bean emerged from the undergrowth near the stone hand. The white-haired woman stood and had the biggest smile on her face as she held out her hand to him. Unsure, Pendergast came forward and looked at her palm. Damn… she really did find something. It looked like a necklace of some sort. Perking a brow curiously, Pendergast lifted up the pendant and held it in his palm. Immediately he felt a slight warmth coming off the triangular piece of… wood? No, it didn't feel like wood. It was black and rough, slightly larger than the palm of his hand, and was teardrop shaped. Odd... he didn't know what it was made of, and when he turned it over…

"Oh, wow! It's pretty," Bean commented, leaning closer to inspect the thing.

Quite… the other side of the pendant looked like opal, white and slightly iridescent, and was smooth like stone or shell. Bean rubbed the surface with her finger as Pendergast absentmindedly picked a couple of leaves from her hair.

"Is that… writing?"

"Ah…?"

"I think it is! But… I can't read it. It's in a weird language. Cool!" Bean looked up at him excitedly before she asked, "Does it look familiar? Can you read it?"

Pendergast held the pendant closer with a rather guarded expression. Narrowing his eye, he studied the strange pendant and its foreign writing for a moment longer before his fingers closed around the thing and he looked at Bean. She looked so happy and beautiful, so he chose to hide his feelings for her benefit.

The knight smiled and shrugged. "It doesn't mean anything to me, but… I mean, I guess it could be mine. You did find it where Sir Boyd said he found me when I was here last. Maybe it fell off me when that forest selkie held me by my ankles as it intended to eat me alive."

"When you put it like that, I guess it makes sense that you don't really remember anything. Just a terrified five year old all alone in the deepest, darkest part of the Enchanted Forest." Bean looked around and crossed her arms before she added thoughtfully, "What were you doing all the way out here? Do you think you just… we wandered around aimlessly, completely lost, until that forest selkie found you?"

Pendergast remained silent as he began to pocket the strange pendant, until Bean gave him an odd look.

"Aren't you going to wear it?"

Looking at her, Pendergast forced a smile as he donned the necklace and tucked it under his shirt. The pendant's strange, radiant warmth pressed against the skin of his chest and he wasn't sure if he should shiver or feel oddly comforted.

"Maybe someone at the castle can read it," Bean offered, setting her hands on her hips and looked around. "Until then… let's go find that waterfall and eat some food. Yeah?"

Pendergast nodded to her and went to retrieve the horses. Bean continued walking, pushing back some branches, and quickly disappeared from view. By the time the Dreamland Knight turned around with the pair of reins in hand, his eye went wide when he saw that Bean was nowhere in sight.

"Bean?" he called, leading the horses forward and looking around. When he didn't get an immediate response, panic cooled his blood. "Bean?!" he shouted again, louder this time, but still no reply, at least not right away.

"Pendergast! Come quick!"

Without a second thought, Pendergast left the horses behind and bolted forward. Drawing his sword with one hand and holding his crossbow with his other, he fought his way through the bushes towards where Bean had called.

"Bean! I'm coming! I-!"

"Hey! Look! It's- ah… dude? You alright?"

Pendergast burst through the trees, ready to kill and defend his queen with his life, but there stood Bean as safe as could be pointing to the waterfall in the distance and giving him an odd look. The man blinked, lowered his hands, and sheathed his sword.

"Bean… you really shouldn't just disappear like-"

"Yeah, yeah, it's all good, but look! It's the waterfall, and- wait. Where are the horses?"

Pendergast sighed and turned around to go back and get their mounts. He was just glad that she was safe, but now he remembered why King Zøg always wanted Bean to wear a bell when she was younger. Fortunately the horses had barely moved and after some coaxing and hacking away at the underbrush did Pendergast manage to get them to where Bean was waiting. It was late in the day and since they had found the stone hand, it was time for Pendergast to set up their camp and make supper. The sun dipped below the horizon as Bean and her knight sat around the campfire and ate the rousted grouse that Pendergast managed to shoot with his crossbow. The pair were in high spirits, laughing and getting a bit drunk on the couple of wine bottles Bean revealed to have packed into her saddlebags. When night reigned above, Bean stood and offered to go and refill their water flasks and Pendergast offered to walk with her. Together, the pair walked over to the waterfall and its pool.

When the sun had been shining, the waterfall hadn't looked like anything special. It was relatively small and flowed into a pool no bigger than Bean's bedroom, maybe slightly larger. Fireflies danced across the surface and the trickling song of the waterfall was soothing and peaceful. However, as the pair got closer, Bean nudged Pendergast and gestured towards the base of the waterfall.

"Hey, does the water look… weird to you?"

Amidst the foam and churning water, the waters did look odd. They looked… blue, like really blue. The disturbed water seemed to shine with a blue iridescence that was, quite frankly, beautiful and mesmerizing. Bean rushed to the pool's edge and knelt down. Just as she was about to stick her hand into the water, Pendergast was there and caught her wrist before she could.

"Wha-? Hey! Pendergast, what are you-?"

"We can't be sure that it's safe, Bean! What if it's some sort of poison?! Sir Boyd did state in his journal that this waterfall and pool had "blue magic" and that it was "cursed"! You shouldn't touch it."

"Oh, please… I'm sure it's fine," Bean reassured, waving him off.

Just then, a pair of fairies flew by and Bean stood and started waving at them to get their attention.

"Hey! Excuse me! Do you have a moment?"

The fairies, a pair of gals, paused with their flight and came to hover near the white-haired, buck toothed human woman.

"Hey, hot tits. What can we do for you, sweetie?"

"Ah, hey, umm we were just wondering about the pool here? You know, if it's safe to touch and stuff?"

The fairies looked at each other, before the one that spoke flew closer to Bean.

"Oh, sure, I bet you're wondering about why the water shines blue, aren't cha sweetheart?"

Bean smiled. "Yes! Is it safe?"

The faerie lit a tiny cigarette and puffed out a small breath of smoke. "Rumour goes that a dragon flew over these parts some years ago and a bit of its blood fell into that pool, causin' its waters to turn a rockin' blue once the sun goes down."

Bean and Pendergast blinked.

"So… what does that mean?" Bean asked.

The fairies smiled.

""It means that you should go for a swim! The both of you! The water is perfectly fine and the more you splash around, the better the show. It's pretty darn romantic, if I do say so myself."

The fairy winked at Bean before her and her friend flew off. "Have fun, humans!"

Pendergast watched the fairies fly away with a suspicious stare before he turned to Bean.

"I don't think we should trust them."

Bean rolled her eyes and smiled at him.

"Pendergast, please, I'm sure it's fine! Stop worrying and… let's have some fun." Smirking back at him as she turned and walked away from him.

Just as Pendergast was about to try and argue with her, his lone eyes went wide. Bean… she was, ah… taking off her clothes and walking towards the pool. The man's expression dropped and he sighed. He wasn't surprised in the slightest. Bean was strong willed, she did what she wanted, and it was a quality that he loved very much about her.

Even when he wanted to drag her away by her famous boots.

"Bean…" he called dryly, walking after her, picking up her belt… then her boots… then her shirt. "Bean, we can't be sure if it's safe to swim in."

Bean looked over her shoulder at him and smirked. "Well, then come on in and protect me," she remarked slyly before sliding out of her pants and tossing them at him.

The pair of brown leggings landed on the man's head and he sighed again. Dreamland was a strange place: nudity wasn't a big issue, like at all. Hell, the kingdom had an entire day dedicated to it: Wash Day. That meant that telling Bean how Pendergast felt was a whole lot more nerve-wracking than seeing her bare ass and breasts. Funny that, huh? Taking the leggings off his head, Pendergast folded her clothes and set them aside before he removed his sword, set down his crossbow, and started to undress himself. It's what his queen and girlfriend wanted, so naked he'd get.

Just as he was about to take off his leggings, Pendergast watched Bean enter the waterfall's pool. He smiled as she laughed how the water shimmered with its ethereal blue magic with every ripple and splash she made. She looked so happy, so… Okay, maybe it wouldn't be too bad if he helped her enjoy herself. Taking off his pants, Pendergast was naked in all his toned and muscly glory, save for his eyepatch and the black teardrop-shaped pendant hanging from his neck. He waded into the pool at the swallow side to find a place to sit in water against a large rock. The water came up to about his chest and was fairly warm, not chilly at all. The water really was nice. It sort of tingled his skin and… in fact, Pendergast was quickly feeling pretty relaxed. Besides, Bean was right: it was fun to stir up the water. The blue iridescence was very pretty.

But not as pretty as the white-haired queen swimming around in the shimmering waters.

"Isn't this just… great, Pendergast? The water… it feels so warm and like… as if tiny fingers are giving you a massage all over my body…"

"Yeah… it does feel pretty nice," the man sighed, leaning more against the rock and letting himself relax more. A lazy smirk crossed his lips as he watched Bean casually swim around. God he loved her. She was so beautiful, and the way she kissed him last night, pulling him closer to her…

"Hey, Pendergast…"

The man's eye snapped open and he immediately pulled up his knees when he saw that Bean was right beside him on her hands and knees.

"B-Bean! I, ah-"

"Mmm, shut up and let me sit against you."

Pendergast obediently didn't move as Bean slid over and leaned against his raised knees. Sighing, she settled in and laid her head back. Smiling, Pendergast tenderly reached forward to gently pull Bean's wet hair back to thread his fingers through it. Damn… her white locks were so silky and beautiful. Bean hummed happily as she gently moved her hands through the water to cause more magical blue ripples to appear. Quiet minutes ticked by and with each new one that passed, Pendergast felt more and more at ease. Actually, he was feeling really good… and having Bean's smooth back against his legs and her hair between her fingers was only helping him how chill he was feeling.

Actually, he was feeling more than chill, but…

"Pendergast?"

"Yeah, Bean?"

"Lower your knees," she slurred, looking back at him with a lazy smile.

"What for?" he asked, cocking a brow at her, but his mind was starting to feel too warm and fuzzy to connect any dots.

"Because! I want to come and sit on your lap, you dork, and lean against you. So, move it!"

Pendergast blinked slowly at her before sliding his legs down so that she could scoot back to come and sit on his lap. Bean sighed as she settled back against him, her head against his shoulder. The water embraced them both in its warmth and magical blue waters, just as Pendergast slowly but surely wrapped his arms around Bean to hold her. The knight was smiling as he gently rested his chin against the side of her butterscotch-smelling hair. He was mindful of where he placed his hands of course, but that only caused Bean to smirk an intoxicated smile. They remained like this for a few minutes, until Bean decided to change it up once again.

Twisting to turn over, Bean moved like a cat, lithe and graceful in the pool's iridescent waters, and Pendergast was too relaxed to react too quickly. Wrapping her arms around the man's shoulders, Bean suddenly pressed her lips against Pendergast's and moaned deeply. Normally, Pendergast would've reacted with some sort of surprise or panic at such a brazen (and nude) act, but right now? Right now all he wanted to do was kiss her back and wrap his arms around her to feel just how smooth her fair skin was. Their kissing intensified and became more desperate. Bean licked her tongue across Pendergast's lips, coaxing his to part, before her tongue dove inside his mouth to wrestle with his. Pendergast groaned at the act and his hands clung to Bean in earnest when she lightly sucked on his tongue. Now that sent shivers throughout his body, partculay to his very erect shaft that was pressed against this belly and hers.

Moving her hands to rest on her knight's broad, toned shoulders, Bean adjusted herself so that she was straddling the man. She then broke their kiss to peer a sultry look down at him.

"I dunno about you, Pendergast… but I feel amaaaazing…"

"Yes, you do…" Pendergast muttered as he slid his hands up her sides, his gaze worshipping her as his fair goddess.

Biting her lower lip, Bean scrolled her eyes down his deliciously broad and muscular chest as her hands caught his on her ribs. Meeting his eyes, Bean arched a brow at him while she coaxed his hands upwards to cup her breasts.

Pendergast blinked and the fog from his mind lifted a bit.

"Bean?"

"Pendergast. We're alone in a magical forest, in a magical pool, and all I want to do is get closer to my boyfriend." Bean leaned closer until her nose touched his and she added in a whisper, "So shut up and kiss me."

And kiss her he did.

Bean removed her hands to wrap her arms back around his neck and Pendergast kept his hand upon her supple breasts, gently squeezing, with his thumbs subtly stroking her nipples. That earned another moan from the white-haired woman, who squeezed her thighs around his hips. Overflowing with confidence, Pendergast dared for his lips to leave Bean's so that they could travel down to her neck to pepper it with kisses and nuzzle it with his stubbly chin. That seemed to be the key, because Bean opened her mouth to gasp and moan loudly. Encouraged, Pendergast continued to act, his hands remaining to play with her delicate mounds, because Bean's moans and little breaths was music to his ears. She really was digging her neck attention.

High on lust, Bean began to grind softly against him. She purred when she felt just how hard and erect his pants-lance was against her mons pubis. Now it was Pendergast's turn to moan. He pulled away from her and held her at arm's length, staring at her with a pleading eye and breathing heavily.

"Bean! I-"

"Come swim with me."

Pendergast blinked slowly as Bean grabbed his hands and pulled him away from the rock. Sliding through the water, she tugged him along out of the shallows to where the smooth, rock bottom suddenly cut away to reveal the unknown depths of the magical pool. The knight relented and allowed for his queen to drag him along, chuckling lightly when she giggled coyly, and the pair began to swim around each other. Every movement they made was echoed by the blue iridescence and the lights of the fireflies that danced just above the water's surface. Eventually, Pendergast settled under a rocky outcropping over the pond's surface that had just enough space for him to keep his head above the water. Anchoring himself to the overhang by hooking his left arm up and over the top, Pendergast watched Bean swim around as his mind became more and more corrupted with lustful thoughts.

Bean was floating on her back, white hair fanning out around her, and she gazed up at the starry night's sky. She was smiling a smile of heavy intoxication, but she wasn't even drunk. Her mind felt heavy and light at the same time and she watched with inebriated delight the lights of the fireflies and fairies dance across her starry mural above. Steadily she floated her way towards where Pendergast was waiting. A wave of renewed lust washed over her, forcing her to roll off her back and swim up to him. In one fluid movement, Bean wrapped her arms and legs around the man and kissed him with the most passion she'd ever kissed another person. Pendergast embraced her with his right arm while he supported them both with his other hand. Slowly his arm travelled down her back to suddenly grip her perfect butt cheek. He only had one thing on his libidinous mind and considering the way Bean broke their kiss to whisper hotly in his ear, apparently so did she.

"Go underwater!"

Pendergast gave her a curt nod and gave them a moment to take in a deep breath, before he extended his left arm to push them under the water's surface. Bean returned to kissing him, her hands in his hair, on the back of his shoulders, on his neck, or gripping his toned arms. She couldn't stop touching him even if she wanted to! Pendergast kept his hand on her ass because, well it was perfect and he was fulfilling a late-night fantasy of his. After a few more moments of intense making out, with Bean pressing her pelvis against his and her legs tightly around him, Pendergast pulled them back up.

Breaking the surface with a gasp, the queen and her knight could barely catch a proper breath with how heavily they were gasping and how much their lips kept returning to smother each other. Rocking her hips back and forth, Bean groaned and moaned as Pendergast sucked on her earlobe.

"More!"

The man moaned and sucked into another deep breath, with Bean doing the same. Once more he pushed them under the warm water and held them there and once again Bean pressed her lips hungrily against this. Their movements shimmered the water around them, caccooning them in an iridescent blue pulse of their own watery passion. At some point of their underwater excursion, Bean's hips succeeded in their desperate and hungry search for Pendergast's erection. The Queen of Dreamland tightened her legs' grip around the knight's hips and in that moment, they were one. In some primal part of their minds, both man and woman became aware that he had entered her and they were now having sex. Pendergast gripped Bean's butt cheek even tighter as he began to thrust and Bean began to rhythmically moan into their intense kisses.

Breaking the surface again, Bean threw back her head and moaned in between her rampant breathing. Pendergast matched her sounds with grunts of his own as he somehow managed to hang onto the overhang and keep Bean close as he instinctively thrusted away. The warmth of the water became nothing to the heat of their fevered love-making. Their erotic song escalated into a cacophony as the knight's thrusts became increasingly sporadic, until he and his queen both orgasmed in unison.

Gasping for air and breathing hard, Bean's head rolled forward. Bean's forehead fell onto Pendergast's shoulder, which was submerged under water, prompting the man to pull them up as much as he could so she could breathe. However, it was a pretty tight space. With some post-nut clarity, Pendergast somehow managed to guide himself and his clinging queen back over to the shallows. Spent and feeling rather overheated, the man pulled himself and his limp girlfriend mostly out of the water onto the grass, until he finally collapsed onto his back with his calves and feet still disturbing the pool's surface. Exhaustion and pure elation coaxed his eye to become half-closed, but Pendergast forced his head to turn to the side to regard his equally fatigued liege. Bean was also on her back, eyes closed, but there was a smile on her lips as she continued to breathe hard.

Pendergast's heart was racing and his body felt so light. His mind was empty and he couldn't tell if he was truly tired or just high off of pure ecstasy. Maybe it was the night air cooling his wet skin, or perhaps how the magical water was slowly dripping off of him onto the grass, or maybe that good old fashioned post-nut wisdom, but Pendergast slowly began to realize what had just happened. Whatever the cause, the knight's euphoric half-lidded gaze over at his queen slowly faded as reality leaked back into his consciousness. Before he could begin to react or anything, however, Bean suddenly turned over towards him. With surprising speed and accuracy, she was somehow once again stradling and staring down at him. Water dripped from her wet hair and her eyes remained alluring and delirious, her hot breaths cooled her damp face. Smirking briefly before she leaned down to press her lips back against Pendergast's, Bean moaned. Pendergast responded in turn by wrapping his arms back around her in an amorous embrace.

Kissing with slightly less urgent hunger as they had in the pool, Pendergast and Bean began to roll around on the grass as they fought for how much their hands could touch the other and how hard they could kiss each other. Eventually Pendergast ended up on top of Bean, who had her left leg hooked on his hip and her hands entangled in his hair. It should be noted that by some happenstance, the knight's eyepatch remained in place this entire time, and his pendant hung from his neck and currently rested upon Bean's collarbone. Leaning down to suckle on her exposed breast, Bean groaned and arched her back towards her hungry knight, moaning his name under breath: wanting more. As his tongue flicked her hard nipple, Bean grunted and suddenly pulled Pendergast's head back up so she could forcefully press her mouth against his as her hips grinded against his renewed erection, begging for more.

Just as Pendergast was about to plunge his decently-sized sword back into Bean's velvety sheath, he broke their kiss to look down at her.

"Should I-?"

"Don't you fucking dare stop!" Bean breathed, her tone putting an end to any foolish talk like stopping at such a pivotal moment.

Searching her eyes for a brief moment more, Pendergast nodded and hastily reached down to take hold of his erection so that his next thrust was one of entry. Bean shouted in earnest, her nails digging his shoulders, before moaning with every new thrust the knight gave her. Pendergast buried his face into her shoulder and hair and tried to focus on nothing but her and his movements.

On the other side of the pool's clearing, the pair of fairies that Bean spoke to sat on a branch smoking as they watched the pair of humans have sex for the second time (with many other fairies also doing so, if you want to know). One of the fairies nudged her friend as she breathed out some smoke.

"Y'think you should've told them, Kumella?"

Kumella shrugged.

"What? That the waterfall is called the "Waterfall of Lust" and the water is the "Pool of Ecstasy"? Naw… you and I both know that it requires some preexisting sexual tension for those waters to get the juices pumping." Kumella paused to take another drag as she watched the man fuck his lady friend, who was making quite the racket. "Besides, it looked like they needed a good magical kick in the pants to get some action going between them. You could easily tell that it was bound to happen one way or another. I'm glad that we could be their audience."

"Mmhm," Twatina commented. "Yeah, but I can also tell that they're both pretty inexperienced."

"Hm, true. But the boy does have a nice ass. For a human."

"And… oh! Well now, she's a biter."

Kumella laughed softly. "Did y'see the chompers on her? I hope that boy has a pain kink."

Twatina coughed out a laugh along with her friend as down below by the waterside the male human cried out as he collectively came once again with the woman beneath him. The fairies continued to smoke as they casually watched, commenting on the relative shortness of the event. When it eventually looked like the humans were getting up and starting to get dressed, did the pair fly off for some better entertainment.

Returning to their campsite, Pendergast immediately knelt by the fire to stir up the embers to try and revive it. Bean, however, went straight into their shared tent. The walk back to the campsite had been silent as both knight and queen came to terms with what just happened as their magically enhanced lust faded and minds cleared. Pendergast closed his eye and dropped his head when he heard Bean disappear before he covered his face with his hands.

Holy shit… he just had sex! With Bean! TWICE!

Groaning softly, Pendergast swept his hands down his face and he glared into the embers of the fire. He began to go over the course of events that lead to this moment and each time he did so, he became more incredulous and ashamed of his actions. So much for courting Bean and going slow! So much for the Code of Chivalry! So much for piety! So much for… self-control! Sure, the knight could admit that he may not be as at fault as he was blaming himself, because, you know, of the sexy magic water, but… still! He also didn't expect that the first time he'd see Bean naked (as her boyfriend, because he had seen her naked before) would also be the first time they boned. Twice no less! Honestly? He didn't think that would happen at all!

Frowning and dropping his head, Pendergast sighed in quiet despair and self-pity. He knew that he couldn't stay out by the first all night: Bean needed him. She needed him to stave off her hellish nightmares. She needed him to be brave. He was a Dreamland Knight, after all. He dared not be the first knight to shy away from sleeping with a woman. In fact, many other knights were known for such a thing.

Cursing under his breath, Pendergast stayed out by the dying fire for another ten minutes or so, before he resolved himself to retire for the night. As he crept into the tent, he dared to hope that Bean was perhaps already asleep. She lay on her side and was facing the fabric of the tent and did not stir at his approach. As carefully as he could, he laid down on his bedroll to stare up at the tent above. Closing his eye, he reached up to remove his eyepatch and set it aside. With his good eye closed, one could barely tell that he was missing his right one. The lid had been sewn closed and had long since healed. Without his patch, he looked like any other ordinary… well, living angel.

"Pendergast?"

The man opened his eye and dread froze his body. Turns out Bean wasn't asleep already.

"Oh! Umm… I thought you were asleep, Bean."

"No," Bean admitted softly, before she rolled onto her back to join him in staring up at the tent. "I've… been thinking."

Pendergast swallowed and bit his lip. Well… it was now or never.

"I… I apologize, Bean, for not meeting your standards."

Now it was Bean's turn to blink in surprise before he looked over at him in confusion.

"What… do you mean?"

Pendergast shifted nervously before looking over to meet her curious eyes. Licking his lips, he began, "W-well… I admit that my, ah… experience does not come close to yours. So… I apologize if you didn't, umm… enjoy yourself as much as you could… have?"

The poor man was really struggling, but he was trying, okay!

Bean just blinked at him, clearly not following.

Pendergast sighed and stomped down his pride. She deserved the truth.

"The truth is… that was… my first… time." He then offered her a small smile in the dimness of the tent, "But… never in a hundred years and even in Heaven would I have imagined that it would've happened… with you."

Maybe in his wildest and sexiest dreams, but that's besides the point.

"You were a virgin?" Bean straight up asked, apparently rather surprised by that fact.

"Yes…" Pendergast admitted with a sigh, turning to look back up at the tent's ceiling. "You see, I have always tried to live by the Code of Chivalry, and-and the Code states that a knight ought to remain a virgin until marriage! Or… unless it happens with his true love… But for many Knights of Dreamland, usually they lose their with a lot of alcohol involved. Not many besides myself actually take the Code seriously."

Pendergast fiddled with his fingers as he spoke, but she had the right to know as his queen.

"Do you… regret it?"

The knight looked over at Bean with haste and answered just as fast, "No! I mean, of course not. It's just… perhaps not as I expected. I fully planned on courting you more properly, Bean. You deserve it." Pendergast licked his lips and frowned slightly, casting his gaze down from hers. "I… I'm sorry, Bean, if I've disappointed-"

"No, Pendergast, there's nothing to apologize for."

The man looked back up at his girlfriend and liege and found her expression to be… troubled? She was nervously pulling at her hair and was avoiding his eye. Concern creased his features.

"Bean?"

"I… may have been… exaggerating when I said how many times I've had sex before."

Pendergast blinked at her.

"I beg your pardon, my queen, but I, and many others, have heard you declare details about your… previous exploits. Usually in the company of King Zøg, no less."

Bean shrugged and looked over at him.

"Yeah… I said those things mostly to piss my dad off. Or, you know, to be… cooler? I guess?"

"So…?"

"So…" Bean uttered with a sigh, "what I'm saying is that… I'm… also… a virgin. Or, I guess… was… now."

Pendergast felt himself grow pale. Holy fuck… he took the Queen's virginity.

"Yeah," Bean continued, ignorant of Pendergast's personal panic, "I've only really, like… made out with a few guys? We never got that far because they'd always run off because they were scared of my dad, or tried to take over the kingdom… you know, that sort of thing. There was this mermaid this one time? But, I'm pretty sure that was a concussion dream, so… doesn't really count. Oh, wait, I think I mentioned that before."

Bean shrugged and looked over at him with a shy smile.

"Pendergast, I really hope that you don't regret what happened, and if you're wondering how I feel…" Bean paused for a moment to think, her expression brightening. "It has been a… fantasy of mine to, umm… have underwater sex and the fact that that was my first time? Wow! I gotta say… thanks! It was pretty hot and awesome, so… please don't feel bad."

Pendergast heard her and he wanted to believe her, but… could it really be that easy? Was Bean really that okay with this entire situation? His expression must've revealed some of his doubts because Bean shrugged again and looked up with a smile.

"Besides! I always hated the idea of being a princess and having to lose my virginity on my wedding night. Ugh! Like, that's so stupid! And painful! Like, being forced to get married is shitty enough, but having sex for the first time with a man I barely know on top of that?! Now that's a shitty cherry on top of a shitty day. Like… fuck off! I'm so happy that didn't happen!" Tugging on her hair, Bean slowly looked back over at him before she added, "Trust me, I tried to lose it before when I was a princess, but… I'm glad that it happened this way."

Pendergast blushed and asked in a quiet voice, "Are you… okay? I mean, I didn't hurt you… did I?"

Bean met his gaze and remained quiet for a moment as she assessed exactly how she was feeling. She felt… happy for sure. And... confused. Bewildered. Tired. Sexy. Proud, perhaps? But… did it hurt? She couldn't really recall: she'd been too high on ecstasy to notice when Pendergast first penetrated her and if that had hurt or not. She set her hand on her stomach and thought about how she felt.

"I guess… I feel… maybe a bit achy? But, like, nothing serious. If anything, I'm just tired," Bean admitted finally. She then shifted towards him and Pendergast instantly stretched out his arm for her to lay her head up before she cuddled up onto her side against him. Resting her left hand upon his chest, Bean searched the front of his shirt with her fingers until she found the hard form of the pendant beneath the fabric. Tugging it free, Bean held the teardrop-shaped medallion and slowly turned it over in her hand. "I hope that… you don't think I'm a loser or anything," she spoke softly.

Pendergast laughed warmly and wrapped his arm around her, hugging her closer. "A loser? If anything, Bean, I am the loser. I'm older than you and, let's face it: men and knights are much more expected to be more sexually active than princesses or queens."

"What about your Code?" Bean asked, smiling at his words.

At first Pendergast said nothing, until he smiled and leaned his head aside to rest his cheek upon her forehead. "As I said," he spoke finally, "a knight may lose his virginity either after marriage or… to his true love. You already know how I feel, so there is nothing for me to regret." He reached his hand to take hers, causing Bean to drop his pendant back upon his chest. Bean remained silent but she was smiling when she closed her eyes and drifted off into blissful sleep.

As much as Pendergast wished to join her in carefree sleep, he could not. His body was tired, but his mind was racing. Can you blame him? He just had sex! That was a pretty big reason for his thoughts to consume him, but… there was also another reason. He had been very honest and open with Bean tonight, not only with admitting the loss of his virginity, but also reaffirming his unfaltering love he had for her. True he didn't say it outright as he had in the Hell-elevator, but he had reminded her all the same. However… he hadn't been fully honest with her… not about everything. Glancing at Bean's sleeping face, the knight watched her for a moment before slowly removing his fingers from hers.

Taking hold of the pendant, Pendergast frowned slightly at its inherent warmth as he picked it up for his lone eye to inspect it. Even though the tent was dark and their campfire had long since died, Pendergast could see the strange pendant. It seemed to faintly glow with a subtle orange power and it worried the knight how Bean hadn't commented on this fact, nor how the pendant produced its how slight heat. Before, when she had asked him if he could read the strange language on the opal-like side of the pendant, Pendegast had responded with: "It doesn't mean anything to me".

Pendergast had been telling her the truth, but it was what he didn't tell her that was keeping him awake. Bean had asked him if he could read the language, and he hadn't given her an answer to this, because if he had told her "no", then that would've been an outright lie. Somehow the knight had managed to keep his reaction to a minimum, but Pendergast found that he actually could read the strange writing! This made no sense to him and neither did what the writing said.

Though… it did prove to him that the pendant did belong to him. How? Well… the first word in the strange language was his name: Pendergast.

Dropping the pendant to his chest, Pendergast breathed softly out of his nose and tenderly took hold of Bean's hand once more. Lightly stroking the side of her thumb, Pendergast closed his eye and slowly slipped away to sleep. The words of the pendant drifted across his mind and into his dreamless sleep, their meaning unknown to him:

Pendergast, return safely to Scaleton

---

A/N:

NOTE** This story is now supposed to be rated Mature, but I can't change it because the site is broken and I can't view that page**

Hello everyone!

Well looky here... surprise surprise! Boom boom! Two chapters banged out just like that! And this one, ohhohoho! Talk about a doozy, eh? This is definitely a chapter that I have been aching to publish, and here it is! And dang... it's much longer than I intended, but I hope the length is worth it.

As always, I welcome all comments and critiques, just remember to be kind: this is a fan's labour of love.

Stay tuned and stay classy, folks!

Cheers!

~Sheik